Annual Rainfall Averages for New Zealand

The tables below give yearly averages for rainfall at cities, towns, beaches and islands throughout New Zealand.

Each place has a total for how many days of wet weather it usually gets a year and for the normal amount of precipitation. The calculation of days only includes the days when rain totalled at least one millimetre (0.04 inches).

These annual precipitation statistics are long-term historical averages of weather data collected during 1991 to 2020.

North Island

Average yearly precipitation
Days Place Inches Milli­metres
132 Auckland 44.1 1119
123 Cape Reinga 42.0 1067
107 Gisborne 39.4 1000
134 Great Barrier Island 65.8 1672
123 Hamilton 44.3 1124
123 Kaikohe 63.6 1614
132 Kaitaia 52.0 1320
140 Kerikeri 71.8 1824
116 Masterton 35.0 889
87 Napier 31.1 790
142 New Plymouth 55.5 1410
121 Palmerston North 38.7 984
122 Rotorua 53.4 1356
109 Taupo 37.3 948
110 Tauranga 47.3 1202
117 Thames 45.6 1159
133 Waiheke Island 49.5 1258
124 Wellington 51.9 1319
174 Whakapapa Village, Tongariro 110.6 2810
123 Whangaparaoa 39.4 1000
131 Whangarei 50.7 1289
143 Whitianga 69.9 1775
114 Whanganui 36.1 916

South Island

Average amount of rain a year
Days Place Inches Milli­metres
102 Akaroa 38.5 979
172 Arthur's Pass 183.5 4660
75 Blenheim 25.1 639
85 Christchurch 24.1 612
105 Dunedin 28.5 724
118 Farewell Spit 47.9 1216
169 Franz Josef 218.7 5555
171 Greymouth 96.2 2443
152 Invercargill 40.8 1035
83 Kaikoura  28.2 715
146 Lake Rotoiti 62.7 1592
76 Lake Tekapo 21.1 535
127 Manapouri 44.3 1126
189 Milford Sound 257.7 6545
158 Mt Cook 162.7 4132
93 Nelson 38.4 976
99 Queenstown 35.8 909
223 Secretary Island 152.7 3879
77 Timaru 21.4 543
174 Westport 81.6 2074

Other Islands

Annual average precipitation
Days Place Inches Milli­metres
202 Auckland Islands 43.1 1096
245 Campbell Island 55.2 1402
142 Chatham Island 33.0 837
133 Raoul Island  56.8 1444
200 Stewart Island, Oban 61.6 1565
Reference

NIWA (New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research). The National Climate Database.

New Zealand Rain
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